Obedience training your dog.

by Dennis Fisher.

HIGH
JUMPING.

This article is one of a great many articles
written by Dennis Fisher about a very wide variety of subjects concerning
different dogs, such as obedience training, breeding, showing, health
matters, training problems and other subjects. All these articles appear
on Dennis Fisher's websites. Visit
http://www.allaboutgermanshepherddogs.com the site
that has been set up specifically for German Shepherd Dog enthusiasts, or
http://www.freedogadvice.com if you
interested in a breed other than German Shepherd Dogs

These
notes on dog obedience training have been set out, for convenience, in
alphabetical order, rather than in order of training procedure.Obviously, in the early stages of training you are not going to proceed
with high jumping.You can however,
start with jumping over relatively low jumps, which the dog will thoroughly
enjoy and regard as a game, rather than serious training.

The heightof the jump will obviously depend on the breed and size of your dog.

At a later
stage in the dog’s training, the dog will be expected to take part in directed
jumping, in which he will have to leave the handler, clear the jump and the
return to the handler and negotiate the jump on his way.

It is very impressive indeed to see this
performed by a well-trained dog, but this early stage al that is required is for
the dog to negotiate the jump while you are holding the leash and accompanying
the dog.

Make the
jump so low initially that you can step over it yourself if necessary.After you have done this a few times, increase the height of the jump a
little.

With your
dog on lead and with the lead in your left hand, approach the jump from the
right side.Run up to the
jump and as you reach it, with the dog on lead, encourage the dog to jump with
the word“Hup”.

Do this a
few times, encouraging him all the time and praising him enthusiastically after
he has completed the jump.

Don’t be
too ambitious at first.Even if the
dog has managed the jump very easily continue with the same height until the dog
is absolutely confident of his ability to clear the jump.

Practice
with a long lead, held very loosely.The dog will soon get the idea, and if you praise very enthusiastically
will soon start enjoying the entire process.

Once the
dog is obviously enjoying the process,you can practice leaving the dog on thesit, while youstand on the
other side of the jump with the long leash in your hand.Call the dog to you, giving the command “hup” as he approaches the jump.

At a later
stage, when the dog has become thoroughly familiar with the jumping process, you
can leave the dog adistance away
from the jump, while you stand a fair distance away on the other side of the
jump.

Give the dog the command“Come” and happily and enthusiastically as you can and he will clear the
jump and come to you.

Make a
point of progressing slowly. Don’t get too ambitious even if you feel that you
have a potential star. It is far better to progressslower than might be necessary than try to dosomething that is slightly beyond the dog’s capacity at this stage of
training.

If the dog failsthere might be a set
back in training, the dog loses confidenceand you will have to go back to basics again.